


To Come From Afar

by WavesOver



Series: Tales of Esmia [3]
Category: Cardcaptor Sakura, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Bi disaster Syaoran, Multi, Syaoran has a thing for green eyed beauties, Unrequited Crush, Vivian is gay & wants a piece of Yugi pie, culture clash, fairy tale AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-01
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2021-02-24 23:07:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22065895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WavesOver/pseuds/WavesOver
Summary: As Syaoran Li and his companions come to the end of their journey, they find many intriguing things while in Esmia, Syaoran in particular.
Series: Tales of Esmia [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1561237
Kudos: 2





	To Come From Afar

Yelan was a cautious woman. She taught her clansmen to always test their food, pray at any temple along the path, and she even went to the fortune teller on occasion. Of course, she only went to those who held a good reputation. And Princess Hinoto had the best reputation of all. Her predictions are always correct, having predicted flawlessly who would win in the battles that the clans have, which concubine would be favored that month, the winners of the Go tournaments that the emperor likes to host, and even natural disasters were to her inner eyes. Even so, she still had to sit down after the proclamation that Hinoto gave to her in private.

“I’d advise that your son travels west.”

She was shocked at the advice.

“What would happen if he stayed?”

“Something that would seem good at first, but will ultimately bring your entire clan to ruin.”

She was still getting use to the idea. The heir to the Li clan, her little wolf, off to the barbaric west. But…

“I will see that he goes there.”

It was difficult to convince the elders of her clan to have her son travel west, after all, it was so close to his introduction to the imperial court. In fact, they banned her from even talking about it in their meeting.

But she had other ways. She had managed to have the Li concubine that was in the emperor’s chambers to have Syaoran travel west to work on trade deals and peace treaties. His highness always did fancy himself as a grand peacekeeper.

Of course, several of the other clans had heard of Syaoran’s task. Most of them were quite glad that such a handsome boy would be away AND that there would be one less representative of the Li clan in court. But several others, including the Wong clan, had probably figured that there was a reason that he was being sent off at such an inopportune time and insisted that they had someone from their clan in this caravan westward. Syaoran was both angry and confused at this task, but it was better that he is frustrated now than dead later.

******

The caravan had just gotten out of Djeseru, where the local lord they were staying at tried marrying of his daughter to Lord Hao when they saw the remnants of a destroyed village. No doubt the result of one of the many wars they had in these barbaric lands.

Syaoran curses his luck in the fact that he was ‘chosen’ for such an important task. He was in the company of several lords, as well as the opportunistic Vivian Wong, a failed attempt of a concubine of the emperor who has (unfortunately) been invaluable in her skills to manipulate the simple people they had met to agree with most of the conditions that would favor the Emperor in their negotiations. There were some concessions, but it was well worth it.

Not long after they had passed through the ruins of some town lost to war, they headed to the castle that the leader of this country and his party will meet him. The ruler here must be quite young to be doing this. He might not even have to be there for the discussions.

They had the servants announce their presence to the ruler as the move closer and closer to the large stone building that their court magician transmitted to the party. It was a large stone building, something that many travelers have noted in their journeys to this corner of the world, made more for withstanding enemy attacks than entertaining guests. It always baffles hm why these westerners fight so frequently over small scraps of land. They even have contries here that are smaller than the Li house, never mind any building that the emperor would have. At least the guards that are greeting them have clean armor, each of them standing to attention in case someone in their party had planned to attack their host. (Of course, only a very foolish man would do such a thing. Not that the Hi clan had many brains in their ranks.)

They had come into the ballroom, where they would be properly greeted by the king and directed to their temporary lodge. He had little expectations for these people. Like most of the place it was made of stone and had tapestries on their walls for decorations. The only thing that impressed him was the stained-glass windows that lit up the rooms. They came to the front, when Syaoran saw the most being that he had ever seen.

Upon the throne was the elegant king of Esmia. Syaoran couldn’t help but think of him as a god-like figure, with his long, tri-colored hair that ends in a captivating dark violet, his bronzed skin that held a warm glow, and his enchanting jade eyes. This man was truly a king in every sense as he graciously introduced himself as King Atem and extended a warm greeting towards his own party. Even his voice was captivating, a deep baritone that he could spend days listening to. He felt himself go red in the face before one of his companions snapped him out of it.

He gave an embarrassingly awkward introduction for their party, he even stammered out his own name, before someone else granted him a reprieve and took over the talks. They were then led to a more elegant mansion, where guests are placed when they are visiting. He went into his room to clean up and try to forget the incident in the ballroom. He had changed to a striking green outfit for dinner, it being one of his better outfits that he brought with him. It would certainly help him calm done, showing his own means to the wonde- the king. After all, it was not like he was _trying_ to impress the remarkable royal that had greeted them.

“Well it seems as if _someone_ has gotten you quite bothered, isn’t that so little wolf?”

He turned to glare at the yellow robed form of Vivian, who was apparently taking advantage of the different countries rules by wearing clothes that would get her executed in the capital.

“I was merely stricken by how young the king was for this country.”

She didn’t buy it. Not that he expected her to, but one can hope.

“And why are you wearing that? I thought people here were picky about what a ‘lady’ like yourself would wear.”

“Please, they would only really care if my outfit was mainly red or blue. And as you see, my dress very little of _that_ , so they really won’t care.”

He glared at her before making his way down the hall. The night was only just beginning and he wanted to throw something at her.

Fortunately, dinner had gone well. He attributed this to the fact that he was sitting _far_ from Vivian. (The fact that he was quite close to the king was another reason, one which he would deny until the day he died.) The meal was sufficient, though the eating utensils were quite weird. What even was a fork good for anyway?

After that they were given the choice of dancing in the ballroom or playing games in the parlor. He chose the game room.

The games that they had in Esmia are strange, with cards being a large majority of them. He had fun all the same and was particularly proud of the fact he has gotten quite good at something called ‘Sekhmet’s Paw’.

“It seems like you’re doing well.”

He jerked to the voice to see an amused king looking over his shoulder.

“Um.. yeah.”

“Well, as much as I would love to give you a bit of advice, it would do me no good to favor one of the players over the other. May the best man win,” He says this, but when he follows the others eyes, he sees that he glanced several times at this card. He took the card. Another win for him. he glances to the king only for him to be by another table, helping out some other player with their game. He feels a bit of jealously spike up, which he quickly hammers down, reasoning that of course he would help players out.

That night he dreams of warm green eyes and a soft hand on his cheek.

****

Surprisingly, Vivian was tolerable after that night. She looked dreamy eyed and had a soft smile on her face. If it were any of his sisters that had that kind of expression, he would assume they had a crush on someone. But Vivian can’t possibly be dealing with something like _that_ , right?

(Never mind all the things that bubble up inside him whenever he is around the king. That is just him admiring the man. It’s not often that you have a king so young on the throne. Especially one that is also charming, witty, and handsome as- No. You can’t think like that. It’s wrong. And anyway, he probably has quite a few ladies at his beck and call.)

He felt it would be best that he strengthen his clans ties to the Esmian throne, so he joined into various activities that the king offered his guests; riding, hunting (though the king seemed more interested in the chase rather than the capture), plays (but not the kind of plays from back home, more of a weird jabby thing where everyone is either miserable or dead by the end), music (which he surprising preferred to the music that’s common in the Xian courts), and of course, games (he especially liked the joy that blossoms in the king’s eyes as he figured out his opponents strategy and used it against them).

He and his companions also offered to show the king and his court some of the culture from his home land. Go, Mahjong, Kites, Pai Gow, Keno, and even Catch Seven Pieces were introduced to the enthralled nobles. Poetry was read, though it seems that the style uses back home doesn’t work here. Vivian even performed, a song about unrequired love that brought him to tears with a moving dance to accommodate it. Magic was exhibited as well, which sparked some interesting conversations between them and the mages of this country.

And throughout all of this, the weird feeling he had about the king grew more and more. It made him notice how diligent the king was in completing his work and how thoughtful he is to the lower class, even trying to remember the names of his servants (he was able to spot Tamago out of the oddly identical family, but that is more due to the fact that he has magic more than anything else). His heart skipped a beat whenever he sees the king give a confident smirk, or a joyous smile. How he looks when he’s deep in though. It’s almost too much to bear.

Soon it was time to leave and he could help but feel like he wanted to stay here.

“You feel it too?”

He turned to Vivian behind him as the last of their things were packed into their caravan, turning back around due to this being the last real stop on their journey. There was something… odd in the way she looked at him, like she sympathized with him (something he never though in a million years that she would do).

“What do you mean?”

She gave him a glare, which put part of him at ease before she explains in a frustrated tone, but he can’t help but feel like there was… some other emotion there. Something that was beyond his understanding.

“I’m talking about how you feel for the ruler here, you idiot. How your face lights up whenever you’re near him. How your eyes linger on him. How you focus on him whether or not he’s there. How you feel like there is no other that can make you feel this way, like you found a missing piece of yourself. **_That’s_** what I’m talking about!”

“And how could _you_ possibly know that?”

“Because that’s how I feel for Lady Yugi. And if you cannot even recognize those feeling for what they are, that you are a bigger fool than I thought,” she hissed before walking away.

He stood there, taking in the words that Vivian spoke. Did he… was it really possible… he retreated into his room, scanning the room to see if there was anything left behind, trying to distract himself from the growing realization that Vivian was right. And even if she was possibly, minisully right, that doesn’t change anything. He’s still the future leader of the Li clan and the king… Atem… it would never work out. Not at all.

And even as he told himself those words, his heart hurt.

*****

“So, have things been to your satisfaction?” the king asked.

He nodded, staring at the ruler’s eyes. There were two reasons for him doing that. First, to show strength to the other man, showing no weakness to the man. The other, more personal reason is to memorize the face of the man that earned his affections. He knows that these emotions would result in nothing, but his heart does not care. So this meeting is as much of a reality check as a farewell.

“Good, I’m glad.”

Damn, even his smile is enchanting.

He noted the ruler nodding and spotted out of the corner of his eye a servant bring something to them.

“Here, something for you and the others.”

He gave them a small mirror with magical script around the backend as well as a scroll.

“It’s a little something that we’ve developed over here. The Mirror can be used as a way to communicate from anywhere in an instant. And the scroll contains a spell that Mana’s developed that can teleport objects over long distances, even people. Though I really would recommend using anyone for it.”

“And why’s that?” one of his companions said.

“Well, there are a few kinks with using living beings.”

“How so?

“It tends make the transportee far more prone to expelling whatever they had in their stomachs to begin with.”

He couldn’t help but grin at that, imagining one of his stuffier companions puking his gut out to try to get home quicker.

“I thank you for these thoughtful gifts,” he bows

“And I thank you for honoring us with your presence. May your journey home be safe with Seth guiding you path.”

Seth… he’s a traveler god for them, right?

“And Syaoran?”

He looks up in shock as the king gives his hand a firm shake.

“Good luck.”

He cradles the hand that the young king had held. He still feels the others warmth as he moves to his horse. And as he leaves, he has an odd premonition that he will be back again before long.

**Author's Note:**

> ... I never said that _all_ the works for my personal challenge would be in the same place.
> 
> For all of the new readers, this is a part of a fantasy AU where magic is real and crowns have more say over the government than years of experience and training. Feel free to read the previous works if you want to know more about this world and some of the details that are glossed over here. This is a bit of a passion project, complete with as many crossovers between my faves as I want.
> 
> Hope you read, review, and have a nice day.


End file.
